Boat construction



Oct. 2, 1951 F. c. MELC-HIOR 2,569,686

' BOAT CONSTRUCTION I Fild Jan. s, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR.Frederic/E OI Jllelchzlow Oct. 2, 1951 F. c. MELCHIOR BOAT consmucnou 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 8, 1948 ior T s INVENTOR;

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Patented Oct. 2, 1951 UNITED STATES- PATENT OFFICE V BOAT CONSTRUCTIONFrederick C. Melchior, New York, N. Y.

Application January 8, 1948, Serial No. 1,170

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in boats, and ithas particular reference to the double end type of which the orthodoxAmerican canoe is a typical and most popular example.

An object of the invention is to provide a simple,

. a propeller and unimpeded slipstream- A further object is to preservethe graceful appearance of a well designed, streamlined boat hull and toavoid the ugliness and awkwardness of external attachments orappendices.

A still further object is to render available a boat of this order.offering superior performance and greater utility, safety, andversatility of operation under diverse conditions, in rough as well asin shallow waters.

Further and more specific objects, features and advantages will moreclearly appear from consideration of the detailed specification hereinafter set forth, especially when taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings which illustrate a present preferred form which the inventionmay assume and which form part of the specification.

In brief and general terms, the invention concerns a double ended boat,the stern portion of which is pivoted or hinged to the rear end of themain hull. This stern portion is provided with a watertight compartmentto increase the safety of the craft and to enable it to floatindependently of the rest of the-hull, if necessary. The rear of themain hull portion and the front of the stern portion are provided withabutting bulkheads so formed and related intermediate their side wallsas to form an upper recess and a vertical well to accommodate the casingof the propeller column of an outboard motor, so that the propellerprojects below the bottom of the boat but within the bottom areathereof, thereby avoiding any motor parts extending over the sides as issometimes the case. Simple, preferably manipulatable means is providedto latch the hinged stern portion to the main hull when 2 Claims. (01.9-2) pression of the outboard motor steering handle, the outboard motorwhich is hinged to the usual bracket on the rear bulkhead of the mainhull can be swung in a vertical plane and carry with it upwardly thehinged stern, thus enabling the motor to be mounted inboard and at thesame time to permit it to be pivoted as is customary when the boat ismoving in too shallow waters.

This invention is applicable, of course, to canoes and any other of theso-called double endf types of boats. The canoe has been chosen forpurposes of illustration in this application, because it is the mosttypical representative of this type of boat, partly because it is by farthe most popular and useful of all small boats used for sport andtransportation along our Waterways. I

As a consequence, a great many users wish to avail themselves of theconvenient propulsive power of the likewise very popular outboard typeof motor, both for the sake of'saving time and physical effort; however,heretofore there have beenonly two practicable methods of mounting 'anoutboard motor on this type of boat. One of these methods employs acustomary outboard motor bracket which is clamped on to the gun- .walesadjacent to the'stern and extends transversely to one side or the other,thus mounting the motor on its free end, off-set from the stern. This isan ugly, awkward and precarious situation for the motor and has also thedisadvantage of causing part of the propeller slipstream to be thrownagainst the keel in turns thus making maneuvering difficult.

Tie other method consists simply of cutting off the sharp stern or,rather, building the craft to begin with as a square stern canoe.However, this operation spoils the appearance particularly in the eyesof the sportsman and enthusiast. Furthermore, a square stern causesturbulence which is detrimental to the performance of the hull andpropeller alike.

A preferred present form which the invention may assume is shown in thedrawings of which:

Fig, 1 is a side elevation of a boat designed in accordance with thisinvention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same boat showing pertinent structure;

Fig. 3 is a side view broken away of the rear end of the boat;

Fig. 4 is a vertical cross section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section taken on the line 55of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 6 is a vertical section taken on the line 66 of Fig. 5, showing thesections detached.

As shown in the drawings and referring merely to the specificconstruction illustrated therein, the boat is in the form of a doubleended canoe having a main hull portion In, a bow portion II, and a sternportion [2. The improvements herein are concerned generally with themanner in which the stern portion and the rear end of the main hull arerelated. The rear end of the hull i is provided with a cross bulkhead l2which in the usual manner is cut away along its top edge andintermediate the ends thereof to provide for the reception of the usualclamping bracket l3 to support an outboard motor shown in dotted linesand numbered I 4. The motor is connected to the bracket in -the usualmanner along an axis I5 so that it can be, through the intermediary ofthe usual steering handle 46, pivoted around its axis so as to disposethe propeller shaft casing ll either in a vertical line or in a line atan angle to the vertical, whereby the propeller l8 may be raised orlowered as the case may require. Thus far the description has set fortha boat with a square stern to the rear bulkhead of which intermediateits ends is connected an outboard motor pivoted to a bracket mounted onsaid bulkhead. In order, however, to avoid turbulence and to obtain theadvantages of the double'ended type of hull, the stern portion I2 isprovided. This stern portion has an airtight chamber l9 to give theproper buoyancy, since in most modern canoes both ends have such.chambers to maintain the craft buoyant even when water gets into themain hull portion.

In order to provide a boat with a double ended stern and at the sametime to mount the motor inboard of the hull and also to permit it to beswung upwards in shallow waters, I have provided a construction wherebythe stern portion is hinged to the main hull portion. This hingingaction is effected by providing the front bulkhead 20 of the sternportion with a rearwardly curved wall 20' to form a well through whichthe propeller shaft column I! extends (see Fig. 5). Cooperating with theforward side walls of this well are vertically extending ribs 26 fixedto and extending rearwardly from the main bulkhead 12'. The main hulland the stern portion are pivoted together by the alignment of holes 2|and 22 disposed respectively at the upper rear side walls of the mainhull and the upper forward side Walls of the stern portion. A suitablebolt 23 is used to complete the connection. By hinging the portions atthe top, it is thereby insured that when the stern is swung upwardly,the well wall 20' can readily be swung sufilciently far away from themain rear bulkhead l2 as to permit the ready withdrawal of the propellerand its column upwardly therethrough.

1 With the rear bulkhead of the main hull cut down, as described, theadjacent upper surface of the stern portion is depressed as at 25 toform a recess or space in which the main motor casing is disposed, Thiswill tend to keep the weight of the motor as low as possible consistentwith having the propeller thereof not extend further below the bottom ofthe boat than necessary.

In order to latch the stern portion in operative normal position withrespect to the hull portion, the bulkhead [2' of the main hull isprovided with the vertically disposed rearwardly extending ribs 26suitably fastened thereto and extending in height a length equal to theheight of the walls of the well 20' and so positioned as to 3 4spectively lie snugly along the inside of said walls as shown in Fig. 4.The bottom of each well wall and rib 26 is provided with an aperturethrough which a latch pin 21 is adapted to extend. As shown in Fig. 5,auxiliary walls 24 are provided and spaced from the front Wall portionof the well 20' in order to seal this area to prevent the leakage ofwater into the watertight compartment through the apertures throughwhich the bolts or pins 21 extend. This pin is connected to a bell cranklever 28 mounted on a bracket 29 fastened to the rib 26 and operated bya link 30 extending upwardly. The links 30 connected respectively to therear ends of a U- .shaped handle 3| are suitably hinged to the hullportionand operable to either project the pins ,Zlthroughthe holes inthe walls or to withdraw them therefrom. In this manner it is obviousthat by a slight movement of the hand, the stern portion can at thebottom thereof be released from the hull. When this is effected thedepression of the motor handle IE will cause the propeller column I! toswing upward and-push the stern portion 12 upwardly around its pivotpoint. In this manner we raise the'propeller [8 Whenever desired and atthe same time provide a V-shaped'stern with the motor inboard and thepropeller projecting from the bottom of the hull within the sidesthereof.

Whenever it is desired to remove the motor, it'is merely necessary totilt up the rear end to a degree where a sufiicient gap is obtainedbetween the upper edges of the bulkheads, since they open up the wellwhenever they are separated and this opening will permit the propellerand its column to be vertically'raised out of the boat. Thus it will beseen that the motor is easily accessible for quick removal and readilytilted out of the water when desired. It is'well pro- 'tected in arugged and serviceable installation,

offering maximum stability, correct application of propeller thrust andsmooth and even'operation and maneuvering. Of course, it is obvious thatif the motor is not employed, a simple cap, not shown, can be used toclose the bottom of the well and in the case that the boat is used as asailboat, a rudder post can be disposed vertically in the well in anysuitable'manner.

While the invention has been described in detail and shown with respectto the accompanying drawing, it is not to be limited to such details,since many changes and modifications may be made in the inventionwithout departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Hence, it isdesired to cover any and all forms and modifications of the inventionwhich may come within the language and scope of any one or more of theappended claims.

I claim:

1. In a boat having a main hull portion and a stern portion, said hullportion and stern portion having bulkheads which abut each other whensaid portions are disposed in normal relative position, the bulkhead ofthe stern portion being formed in an offset manner intermediate itslength to form a well between said bulkheads which well is open at thetop and bottom thereof, vertical ribs on the bulkhead of the main hullportion extending into the well along side the walls of the well,manipulable means on the bulkhead of the hull portion and cooperatingwith said ribs and the walls of the well to latch said portions togetherin normal relation, and means at the tops of said portions to hinge themtogether for pivotal relative motion.

2. In a boat having a main hull portion and a stern portion which havebulkheads adapted to abut each other when the portions are disposed innormal relation, means for pivotally connecting said portions togetherat their upper side adjacent edges, the bulkhead in the stern portionbeing formed in an offset manner intermediate its length to form a wellopen at its top and bottom, vertical ribs aflixed to the bulkhead of themain hull and extending into said well adjacent 10 the walls thereof,said ribs and the walls of the well at their lower adjacent portionsbeing provided with apertures adapted to be alined, pins associated withsaid ribs and adapted to extend through said apertures when alined tolatch the ribs and the Well walls together, and a manually operablelinkage associated with the pins and mounted on the main hull bulkheadto operate said pins to latch and unlatch the parts at will.

FREDERICK C. MELCHIOR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,141,196 McLaren June 1, 19151,226,699 Saunders May 22, 1917 1,445,792 Olson Feb. 20, 1923 1,492,400Schimpff Apr. 26, 1924 2,149,903 Thompson Mar. 7, 1939 2,218,264 LuceOct. 15, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 176,965 Great BritainMar. 23, 1922 277,557 Germany Apr. 13, 1913 314,095 Germany June 24,1917 641,668 France Aug. 8', 1928

